Elevate your next tailgate with Chef Tom's Bacon Cheeseburger Meatballs cooked on the Kamado Joe Kettle Joe!
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Mixing mustard into the ground beef before shaping: Kneading Kozlik's maple mustard into the meat until tacky adds moisture and binds the beef, helping the meatballs hold their shape once stuffed and wrapped.
- Stuffing each meatball with pickle and cheese: Folding a cube of cheese and a pickle piece into the center means every meatball delivers a melted, tangy surprise in the middle, instead of plain seasoned beef throughout.
- Chilling before wrapping in bacon: Refrigerating the stuffed balls for 30 minutes firms them up, making it easier to wrap bacon around each one without the shape collapsing or the filling squeezing out.
- Toasting Hawaiian roll cubes in the same duck fat spray as the meatballs: Cooking the crouton cubes alongside the meatballs on the indirect side ties the bread's flavor to the same fat and seasoning used elsewhere in the dish.
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
16
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Calories
885
Surprise your friends with Chef Tom's Bacon Cheeseburger Meatball recipe. Juicy and flavorful, they'll add a delicious twist to your next tailgate. With a combination of bacon, cheese and beef, these mouth-watering bites will be a hit!
Ingredients
- 2 lb Creekstone Farms Signature Brisket Blend Ground Beef Pucks
-
1/4 cup Kozlik’s Amazing Maple Mustard
-
Cattleman’s Grill California Tri-tip Seasoning
- 8 slices American cheese
-
8 slices Holmes Made Dad’s Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles
- 16 slices classic cut bacon
- 8 Hawaiian rolls, quartered
-
Cornhusker Kitchen Spray Duck Fat
- Butter lettuce, for garnish
- Cherry tomatoes, for garnish
- 1 cup Duke’s Mayonnaise
-
1/4 cup American Stockyard Kansas City Classic Barbecue Sauce
-
2 tsp pickle juice (from Holmes Made Dad’s Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles)
Secret Sauce:
Directions
- Build hot coal bed in the Kamado Joe Kettle Joe. Bank the hot coals to one side of the fire box for indirect grilling, and adjust the airflow at the top and bottom of the grill to stabilize the temperature around 550ºF.
- Combine the Creekstone Farms Signature Brisket Blend Ground Beef and Kozlik’s Amazing Maple Mustard and mix thoroughly by hand until tacky. Divide into 32 (1 oz) balls.
- Press out each ball in the palm of your hand. Season with Cattleman’s Grill California Tri-tip Seasoning. Place 1/4 pickle and 1/4 slice cheese (folded into a cube) in the center and wrap beef around to enclose. Transfer to a sheet pan. Refrigerate to chill, about 30 minutes. Wrap each stuffed meatball in 1/2 slice bacon.
- Place the cubed Hawaiian roll in a Finex 12” Cast Iron Skillet. Spray with Cornhusker Kitchen Spray Duck Fat. Season with Cattleman’s Grill California Tri-tip Seasoning. Toss to coat. Place the skillet on the indirect side of the grill and close lid. Cook until the bread is lightly toasted, tossing occasionally to brown evenly. Remove the skillet from the grill.
- Grill the Bacon Cheeseburger Meatballs over indirect heat until they reach an internal temperature of 165ºF. Remove from grill.
- Mix the ingredients for the secret sauce in a bowl.
- For presentation, skewer lettuce, then cherry tomato, then meatball, then crouton. Serve with secret sauce for dipping.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why mix mustard into the ground beef before shaping the meatballs?
Kneading the maple mustard in until the meat is tacky adds moisture and helps bind the beef, so the meatballs hold together once they're stuffed and wrapped in bacon.
Why stuff each meatball with a cube of cheese and a piece of pickle?
Folding the beef around a cheese-and-pickle center means every bite delivers a melted, tangy surprise in the middle, instead of plain seasoned beef all the way through.
Why chill the stuffed meatballs before wrapping them in bacon?
Refrigerating for about 30 minutes firms up the shape, making it easier to wrap bacon around each ball without it collapsing or squeezing the filling out.
Why toast the Hawaiian roll croutons in duck fat spray on the grill instead of in a regular oven?
Cooking them on the indirect side alongside the meatballs ties the bread's flavor to the same fat and seasoning used elsewhere in the dish, rather than toasting them separately with no connection to the rest of the recipe.
What internal temperature should the meatballs actually reach?
This recipe grills them until they reach 165°F, which is a safe target for a ground beef and pork (bacon) combination — no correction needed here.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
3 out of 5 — the meatball mixture, stuffing, and secret sauce can all be prepped indoors; a regular oven can toast the croutons and finish the bacon-wrapped meatballs, though you'll lose some of the grill's char and smoke.
Recipe Highlights
Mustard-bound beef: Adds moisture and helps the meatballs hold their shape.
Cheese-and-pickle stuffing: Delivers a melted, tangy center in every bite.
Chill-before-wrap step: Keeps the bacon wrap neat and the filling contained.
Grill-toasted croutons: Ties the bread's flavor to the same fat and seasoning as the meatballs.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 3.85 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 885
- Carbs
- 17 grams
- Protein
- 46 grams
- Fat
- 69 grams
- Sodium
- 825 milligrams
